Sir Ian as Gandalf

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I think this will provide us with a new question to discuss about elves, hobbits and maia: how much do they age and over what extent of time? Yes, yes, I know they are supposed to be ageless, but how to establish that with any degree of believability for the movie-going public who won't (one assumes) know all the Tolkien details.

How much younger should Bilbo appear?

If they get Ian Holm to the part of Bilbo I'm quite happy to see him at any age imaginable... To be more honest I think Bilbo should not lok too much younger than he was in the LotR as it is said the ring kept him young.

Thinking of the timeframe between the Hobbit and the LotR and scaling it with the lifespan of the elves or maia it looks simple that the time passed between the two works will be insignificant to the ageing of the main characters.

For my part, I was always disappointed in the PJ trilogy that Galadriel, who is thousands of years older than Elrond, and is his mother in law to boot, looked so much younger than him. Didn't she get even one wrinkle, one grey hair worrying about her daughter?

Good point! And how was it possible she was married to that young "dough-face" as her one love?

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

If they get Ian Holm to the part of Bilbo I'm quite happy to see him at any age imaginable... To be more honest I think Bilbo should not lok too much younger than he was in the LotR as it is said the ring kept him young.

ABSOLUTELY.

[Sauron the White]

Ian Holm was utterly fantastic as Bilbo in each and every scene in LOTR save one. The one exception being the finding of the One Ring where he simply could not disguise his age. Ten years has past since that filming and those ten years are the most difficult for an actor. Plus Holm has had health problems. He would have to play a more physically demanding role and appear younger than he did in LOTR.

Face it - its just not in the cards.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Ian Holm was utterly fantastic as Bilbo in each and every scene in LOTR save one. The one exception being the finding of the One Ring where he simply could not disguise his age. Ten years has past since that filming and those ten years are the most difficult for an actor. Plus Holm has had health problems. He would have to play a more physically demanding role and appear younger than he did in LOTR.

Face it - its just not in the cards.

I agree, Ian Holm is a wonderful actor, but I fear he may have even looked a tad old for Bilbo in FotR, and that was ten years ago! Perhaps, like Gollum, they can make a completely CG animated likeness of a younger Bilbo using Ian's voice. Don't laugh! They made Ray Winstone's beer belly into a six pack for Beowulf!

P.S. Speaking of the Beowulf movie, did anyone else find the visuals disturbing? I couldn't even watch the waxen-faced caricatures after a while.

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

P.S. Speaking of the Beowulf movie, did anyone else find the visuals disturbing? I couldn't even watch the waxen-faced caricatures after a while.

Oh man - that show was WILD. It only gets weirder the closer you get to the screen and I was sitting in the front row. Sometimes it even seemed like the action was happening behind me or beside me. I had a terrible headache afterwards.

The CG people were pretty eerie...

[The Sixth Wizard]

Err... What about Bilbo? And Gollum?

I think I subconsciously left them out because Bilbo looks so old in LOTR and Gollum's a CGI creation.

Anyway Bilbo should appear way younger. Sure, the ring kept him young, but he's only on the brink of adulthood in the Hobbit and twenty years younger than Frodo is in LOTR...

[Gwathagor]

Are you sure? I thought they were the same age (50) when they each set out on their respective adventures. Perhaps I invented that.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

If they get Ian Holm to the part of Bilbo I'm quite happy to see him at any age imaginable... To be more honest I think Bilbo should not lok too much younger than he was in the LotR as it is said the ring kept him young.

Thinking of the timeframe between the Hobbit and the LotR and scaling it with the lifespan of the elves or maia it looks simple that the time passed between the two works will be insignificant to the ageing of the main characters.

Good point! And how was it possible she was married to that young "dough-face" as her one love?

It isn't the Hobit that is the problem though is it? Clearly you will need a younger Bilbo, Elrond is a cameo, and Gollum alas will be played by a computer. Where you have problems is with what ever they cobble together for this in between film. Surely Aragorn and Elrond will be a big part of that . Saruman and Galadriel for that matter...

... I am not sure that Viggo is the sort of actor who would want to go back. He has many other interests. And given the age he may have to be recast...

Weaving might not want to for a long haul either - or Cate Blanchett. The wonderful Christopher Lee is very hale for an octogenarian but ..... You may well need a younger Theoden and Denethor.... I can't help thinking of the Irishism "if I was going there I wouldn't start from here".